


Karma's Bitch

by kremlin



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, MAAS Sarah J. - Works
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 13:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14021640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kremlin/pseuds/kremlin
Summary: When Nesta slips and falls on her way home, there's one person witnessing her fall. The one person, she didn't want to see.





	1. Chapter 1

_"O_ uch.”

 _Whoever had claimed that snow was soft is a fuckin liar_ , Nesta decided, when her behind collided with the hard, snowy ground. During the fall, she’d had half a mind to twist her body to the side, so she wouldn’t fall onto her bag that contained her laptop aka her academic career aka her life, causing her to fall onto her right elbow instead.

Now she laid on the sidewalk outside the library, asking herself just where she went wrong.

She had heard the weather report in the morning and dressed accordingly, wearing proper, ugly winter boots instead of a more stylish option. She had walked slowly and cautiously, keeping her hands free in case she needed to balance and her eyes on the ground, but it had all been for naught. She’d still slipped and fallen. And it hurt like a bitch.

With clenched teeth, she raised herself to a sitting position and tried to stand up. But when she put her weight on her right arm, a sharp pain flared up in her elbow, causing her to gasp and support herself with her left instead. Nesta clumsily scrambled to her feet, patting off the snow from her coat. At least nobody had seen her embarrassing herself.

“Hey, you okay?” a voice suddenly asked behind her.

Nesta’s spine locked instantly and she slowly turned around.

 _No, no, no_! _Not him! Off all people!_

Nesta despised Cassian with all her heart. They shared some classes, although Nesta didn’t understand why the hulking jock was taking law classes, and they absolutely loathed each other. She didn’t remember why, but their first conversation ever ended with Cassian saying some rather nasty things to her face and Nesta dismissing him, which had only seemed to rile him up even more.

The dumb beefcake was probably not used to not getting attention from girls, so he’d somehow latched on and bothered her ever since. They almost always ended up working together for group work or projects, Cassian being all seductive smiles and cocky innuendos, while Nesta hissed and screeched like a wildcat, unable to shake him off.

But right now, Cassian wasn’t smiling. Rather than that, he was giving her a once over with a serious look on his face.

“You alright? I saw you fall,” he asked again.

“Fuck off, Cassian!”

“Wow. No need to be nice, Nes. It’s not like I was trying to help or anything.” Despite his cocky grin, Cassian sounded genuinely hurt. “You might wanna watch out for your Karma, though. I heard, Karma’s a bitch.”

Nesta narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re a bitch!”

“Karma seems to think otherwise, seeing that it wasn’t me who slipped.”

Cassian gave her a full-blown shit-eating grin. Nesta flipped him off.

“Jokes aside. Are you alright? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Cassian asked once more. Nesta was surprised by the sincerity in his voice.

“What do you care,” she snapped, hitching her bag higher up on her shoulder. She used her right arm to do so, which turned out to be a mistake. The pain flared up again, making her wince.

Cassian immediately zeroed in on her arm. “You _did_ hurt yourself! Let me check!”

He reached out for her, but Nesta took a step back. Only when she did, pain shot up in her lower back and she let out on uncontrolled whine. Cassian looked alarmed.

“Does your butt hurt, sweetheart?” he asked in a serious tone, but Nesta swore she saw him fighting down a smile.

“My butt is none of your business!”

Nesta turned around, about to walk away, but the moment she tried to move her legs, a sharp, stabbing pain ran up her spine from her behind. She inhaled sharply.

“Hey, hey! Where does it hurt?”

Cassian had come up behind her, gently placing a hand on her back to steady her.

“Don’t touch me!”

Nesta wanted to turn around and smack him, but she couldn’t move. It hurt too damn much. Cassian, meanwhile, let his hand drop from her back - only to put it on her tailbone. Nesta’s cheeks heated in embarrassment.

“Does it hurt here?”

“Yes,” she hissed through her teeth. “Now stop groping me!”

Cassian did nothing of the sort. Instead he lifted her coat and shamelessly looked at her butt.

“Can you lower your pants? I want to take a look.”

Nesta couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Hands. Off,” she snarled.

“Pants off, you mean,” he grinned back.

Nesta snorted. “Yeah, right! Fat chance I’m stripping for you!”

Cassian shrugged. “I just wanted to check whether or not you broke your ass, but please, go ahead, walk around with that bum broken.”

This time, Nesta blushed a furious red. “My ass is NOT broken!”

Cassian cocked his head. “How do you know? Have you ever broken it before?”

“No, of course not! Have you?”

“Yes.”

His quiet admission surprised her enough that she forgot to be mean to him.

“You broke your ass? How?” Nesta’s lips twitched.

Cassian, in return, gave her a small bemused smirk. “Careful there, sweetheart. You were almost smiling.”

When Nesta kept glaring at him, he sighed in defeat.

“Same as you actually. Slipped on ice and fell hard. Broke my tailbone. Couldn’t walk and sit right for weeks. So I know what to look for.”

He looked at her, his hazel eyes earnest. _Damn his eyes are pretty!_ Nesta had never bothered looking at him closely enough before to notice.

“I’m not taking off my pants in front of you,” Nesta repeated, but softer this time.

Cassian held her stare for a moment, but then let it go.

“Okay, but promise me you’ll go for a check-up? Actually, I can drive you to the ER right now,” he offered.

Nesta wanted to decline, but hesitated. The way he behaved was so out of character for him, or more like contrary to her perception of him so far, that she actually considered his offer in earnest.

“Ok.”

Cassian looked so ridiculously relieved, Nesta was completely floored. She really didn’t get why he bothered with her at all. She would’ve pegged him to gloat over her little accident and use the opportunity to poke fun at her for the next couple of weeks.

“Will you rip my arm off, if I offer it to you for support?”

“Probably,” Nesta snapped, more out of habit than anything.

Cassian gave her his trademark grin and offered her his arm. Nesta was probably more surprised than Cassian, when she actually interloped her arm with his.

☙☙☙

“Hey sweetheart. How are you?”

Nesta regarded Cassian with a glare that could’ve had plants wither and children burst into tears, but it did nothing to deter the hulking man from slipping into the seat next to hers, giving her a very obvious once over and then focusing on the cast on her right arm.

“What do you care?”

Nesta couldn’t help it. Snapping at Cassian seemed to have become second-nature for her at some point. Cassian arched his eyebrow at her, obviously offended.

“Well, considering I brought you to the ER, I’d say, I actually care quite a bit?”

Nesta bit her gums and averted her gaze. She felt slightly ashamed for being rude when Cassian hadn’t been anything but really nice and helpful.

He had dropped her at the ER last week, and even went as far as sticking around in the waiting room, until her sister Elain showed up and Nesta assured him, he could leave. She owed him big time, and she knew it. But just like the Leopard can’t change his spot, Nesta couldn’t bring herself to be nice to Cassian.

But Cassian wouldn’t be Cassian if he was scared off by her bitchiness. He drummed his finger on her cast.

“Come on Nes, tell me what the doctor said.”

“I will, if you stop calling me Nes,” she spluttered.

“Deal, sweetheart.”

Nesta glowered at him, which caused Cassian to smile. _His smile is pretty too… Damn it Nesta!_ She couldn’t get distracted by Cassian’s good looks.

“I’m happy to inform you that my ass isn’t broken,” she said haughtily. She got away with a bruised bone that was uncomfortable, but would ease up soon enough.

“Congrats,” Cassian said mockingly, still tapping her cast with his pointer finger. “And this is? A new fashion trend I’m not familiar with?”

“It’s a cast, Cassian.”

Cassian huffed a little laugh. “Guess what? I noticed.” He tilted his head in question. “How bad is it, sweetheart?”

Again, that serious tone. He seemed to genuinely care. It was enough for Nesta to turn towards him and answer without sounding pissy - well, less pissy than usual.

“Hairline fracture at the elbow. Not serious enough to warrant a surgery, but I need to keep it still and then some physical therapy.”

“Damn. I’m sorry!” he muttered.

“Why would you be sorry about this?” Nesta asked, seriously puzzled.

Cassian shrugged and collected his shoulder-length hair with both hands, tying it off into a little bun. Nesta hated to admit it, but the way his muscles bunched under his longsleeve and how his tied back hair made his rugged, masculine features stand out even more, was really sexy. Bewildered, she looked away.

“Well, it always sucks to be hurt, especially when your injury does not only hurts, but also impairs your movement or your daily life.” He motioned to her arm for emphasis. “I guess not being able to use your dominant hand is really frustrating. And I know how diligent you are about taking notes and school in general. You can’t write with your left, can you?”

No, she couldn’t. Nesta narrowed her eyes at him, but refrained from throwing a barbed comment his way. He was right. And he hadn’t meant to insult her, just telling her he felt sorry for her. She was also slightly impressed that he knew which hand was her dominant hand.

“No I can’t,” she conceded. “But I can type on my laptop.”

Only not as fast as she would like. And it _did_ hurt quite a bit when she typed. The elbow was one of those peculiar places on the body that one didn’t spend much thought on, but when it hurt, you noticed just how much of your movements are directed my that pesky little part.

“Have you asked the teachers, whether or not you can record the lesson?”

Nesta looked at Cassian in surprise. “You think they’d let me?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Ask them? If they don’t, you could try arguing that recording their lessons would serve to compensate certain disadvantages. The university is legally obligated to offer all students fair treatment and equal chances.” 

Cassian gave her a shrewd look. “You’re a law student, sweetheart, a smart one at that. I’m sure you can build a case for yourself and do it splendidly.”

Nesta didn’t know what astonished her more. The fact that Cassian had just complimented her on being good in what she did, or the fact, that he sounded pretty damn smart himself, presenting a solid, well-argumented solution for her problem.

Smiling, Cassian leaned closer and put a knuckle under her chin, pushing upward. “You’re mouth hangs open, Nes. Surprised that I actually have a brain to think with?”

 _Yes_.

Nesta quickly shut her mouth and smacked his hand away. Mortification churned in her gut, but she refused to let it show. Instead she just channeled her embarrassment into anger, like she usually did. Only she didn’t direct it at Cassian, but at her teachers, imagining them refusing her plea to record the lesson. Nesta opened her laptop and pulled up the state law on education, trying to figure out, whether she could sue herself into recording her lectures, just in case she needed to sue.

Cassian peered into her laptop and barked a laugh, when he saw which paragraphs she’d pulled up.

“You know, sweetheart, I’d be also willing  just to share my notes with you.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Feyre?”

“Hm?”  

“You’re friends with Cassian, right?”

Feyre turned off the faucet and wrung out Nesta’s hair, before neatly wrapping it in a fluffy towel. With her arm in a cast, there was only so much Nesta could do, and washing her long hair was definitely not one of them. So her sisters tried to come over every second day or so and wash her hair and help with other things around the house. Clutching the towel, Nesta straightened and stretched her stiff neck, before sitting down on the closed toilet.

“Yeah. I met him around the same time I met Rhys.”

Feyre’s whole face lit up when she thought about her boyfriend and a small blush appeared on her cheeks. Nesta was always amazed about seeing her sister react like this. As long as she could remember, Feyre had been as guarded and closed off as she was. Seeing her baby sister practically bursting with happiness by the mere mention of her boyfriend, touched her deeply, even if she would rather bite off and swallow her tongue than admit to this.

Feyre started rubbing the towel over Nesta’s hair, drying off the excess water. “Why do you ask?”

Nesta shrugged noncommittally. “He offered to share his notes with me.”

Feyre smiled a little to herself, while she carefully worked her way down Nesta’s hair. “And that surprised you?”

Nesta stayed silent, but Feyre knew she had hit the nail on the head. Her sister dropped the towel and motioned for Nesta to turn around on the toilet seat, so she had better access to her hair. Armed with conditioner and a Tangle Teezer, Feyre started detangling the long, wet strands.

“You know, it was actually Cassian I first talked to about what happened with Tamlin,” Feyre confessed.

Nesta shot her sister an incredulous look through the mirror. Feyre flashed her a little smile and then continued combing through her hair.

“Rhys helped me heal a great deal after everything that happened, and it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him, because he’s just so wonderful. But Cassian was the first friend I really opened up to. Like, the first time I let myself cry over Tamlin was actually in front of him, not Rhys.”

Feyre’s face grew wistful and Nesta reached behind her, so squeeze her thigh in comfort.  

“Cassian has this unexpected gentleness about him,” Feyre continued. “People don’t expect him to be, because he’s so loud and boisterous. He appears to be a bit dumb at first glance, but that’s just because he’s just such a cheerful, big guy. It’s the whole jock look I reckon. And he can also be a bit annoying at times,” she conceded.

“Super annoying, you mean,” Nesta muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, he sure knows how to push people’s buttons,” Feyre admitted with a full-bellied laugh. “But he never pushes you too far, you know. He’s really empathetic. It made it easy for me to tell him those things I was afraid and ashamed about.”  

Nesta thought back to how Cassian had helped her when she had slipped, admitting embarrassing things about himself, so she felt less awkward. And although she had been a real bitch, snapping and insulting him for most of the year, Cassian had never stopped talking to her.

She could totally see what Feyre was talking about.

“He’s caring and sweet. And really intelligent. People don’t expect him to take classes serious, because of his football career, but I bet his notes are superb,” Feyre declared.

They were. Almost as good as her own. Feyre met her eyes in the mirror.

“Cassian’s a great friend to have.”

Nesta couldn’t help, but agree.

☙☙☙

“By the Mother!”

Greatly annoyed, Nesta pushed her long, wavy hair out of her face again. Because she had to use her non-dominant hand, it wasn’t that easy of a feat. It also wasn’t the first time she had to brush her hair out of the way while bending over legal texts and her laptop.

Nesta usually spent a good long while every morning on her hair, braiding and pining it up in alternating styles. But with her arm in a cast, she couldn’t braid it away from her face like she usually did, which meant she had to let it hang loose around her face, causing her hair to tumble around her shoulders and fall into her damn face every time she tilted her face forward.

“Need some help?” Cassian eyed Nesta’s long, golden-brown locks curiously.

They were currently sitting in a breakout room in the library, working on a class project that they _of course_ ended up in together. Only this time, Nesta didn’t curse her luck as much as she had before. Once she had gotten over herself and begrudgingly accepted Cassian’s help - silently acknowledging, that he was actually intelligent enough to keep up with her - , Nesta was quite happy she go to work with Cassian. Not that she would ever admit it out loud. Her stoic silence should be compliment enough.

Nesta shot Cassian a disbelieving glare. “Unless you can braid hair, no thank you!”

She threw her head back, shaking it in the hopes of getting her hair out of her face. Nesta knew, it would just fall forward again the moment the bend down to read her texts, but she had to try.

“Do you have hair ties?”

Nesta stared a blankly at him, not answering. What did he need hair ties for? His hair was already bound back in the typical little bun he usually sported.

“Hair ties. You know? For tying up hair? Cassian elaborated.

“No I don’t? What would you want with them anyways?” she asked warily.

“Tie hair. What else is there to do with hair ties?” Cassian scoffed. “Seems like I got no choice then.”

He reached behind him and unraveled his man bun, his shoulder long hair tumbling down around his face in sexy curls. Nesta’s mouth went a bit dry at the sight and she had to swallow.

“Turn around,” Cassian demanded. Nesta did nothing of the sort, but continued to stare at him blankly. “Nesta, I can’t braid your hair when you face me,” he said with a little sigh, snapping the tie onto his wrist.

“You know how to braid hair? How?”

“Turn around and I’ll tell you as I braid, sweetheart.”

Cassian met Nesta’s glare earnestly. There was no mirth in his eyes, no grin on his face. He was being serious. Nesta waited for another couple of heartbeats, waiting for him to burst into laughter, telling her he was making a joke, but when he did nothing of the sort, Nesta turned around.

Cassian immediately plunged his fingers into her hair, combing through it. The way his fingers brushed over her scalp and tugged at her hair was oddly relaxing - and a bit arousing.

“Any wishes?” he asked.

“Surprise me.”

Cassian hummed contently and expertly sectioned off the top part of her hair, and then divided the top section into two, tying one off with his hair tie to keep it out of the way. It seemed like he really knew what he was doing there.

“So, how come you know how to braid hair?” Nesta asked, relaxing into her chair while Cassian started braiding from her right temple towards her back.

“I used to braid my little sister’s hair,” he confessed. “She always demanded me to do it for her every morning.”

“You have a sister?”

“Had.”

The pain she heard in his voice spurred her to turn around, but Cassian clicked his tongue and forced her head forward. “Stay still, you’re ruining the braid, Nes.”

For once, Nesta did what he asked without hesitation. She assumed, he didn’t want her to see his face right now. She surely wouldn’t want him to, if it was her.

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” she said softly.

“Well, Seren wasn’t my biological sister, but her and Rhys’ mother took me and Azriel in. So I regard them as my siblings.”

Cassian finished the braid and plucked off the hair tie from the tied-off section, securing the braid before starting on the other side.

“So you and Rhys grew up together?”

“Yeah. Feyre didn’t tell?”

Nesta’s face heated with shame. “Feyre and I don’t really talk about you guys.”

Well, it was more like Feyre had stopped telling her stuff, because Nesta had repeatedly showed how little interest she had in her sister’s boyfriend and friends. Nesta’s only concern was Feyre’s happiness and wellbeing. The details hadn’t interested her, as long as Feyre kept smiling and glowing from happiness.

Cassian didn’t comment, but finished up the second braid and then tied them together at the back of her head.

“Done!” he declared.

Nesta immediately lunged for her purse, digging for her compact mirror. The way Cassian had handled her hair, she was expecting a neat job.

What she hadn’t expected was an _excellent_ job: Instead of a simple french braid, Cassian had gone for a waterfall braid on both sides. Both braids connected to a neatly wrapped bun at the back of her head. She was impressed by how good the bun looked, when all he had to secure it with was his one hair tie. It was a really cute hairstyle - one she couldn’t have managed by herself, even if her arm wasn’t in a cast. Nesta looked at herself in disbelief and then stared at Cassian with wide eyes.

He gave her a satisfied little smile. “I take it you like it?”

“Yes!” Nesta breathed. She was too stunned to try an lie or hide her honest opinion in any way. “It’s beautiful, Cassian.”

Cassian’s smile widened into a broad, happy grin that caused Nesta’s heart to beat just a tiny little bit harder.

☙☙☙

“Uhm, excuse me?”

With a frown, Nesta raised her head and eyed the unknown girl who stood in front of her table suspiciously. It was lunch break and Nesta had gone to her favorite café on campus for a cup of coffee and a quick snack.

“Yes?” she asked in a clipped tone. She didn’t like being disturbed or talked to by strangers.

“Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to tell you, that your hair looks really cute. Did you do it yourself?”

Nesta almost smiled at the complement and her demeanor softened slightly. “A friend did it for me.”

The girl gave her hairstyle another appreciative glance. “Your friend is really talented. Would you mind, if I take a picture? Just of your hair!”

Nesta picked up the book she had been reading and held it in front of her face, so the girl could snap some pictures. She didn’t want her face in the picture, but she understood the girl’s desire to document the masterpiece on her head.

Since that first time in the library, Nesta let Cassian style her hair almost every day. First, he’d do her hair just before classes. Then they began meeting a little bit earlier before their joint classes, so Cassian had enough time to do more elaborate styles and experiment as much as he wanted.

Since last week, they just met every day, even on days when they did not have class together, just so Cassian could do her hair. Nesta usually dropped by his dorm room on her way to the first class, seeing that he lived rather conveniently on campus and his roommate was almost always out.

Today, he had braided a 4-strand braid and draped it over her head like a headband, the rest off her hair falling over one shoulder in a cute fishtail braid. Nesta liked it immensely. She was itching to recreate the hairstyle once her cast came off in two weeks.

The girl showed Nesta the pictures she took to ensure her, that Nesta’s face was not visible in any of them. “You think your friend would mind, if I post them on my social media?”

“No, I don’t think he’d mind.”

The girl looked slightly confused, probably because of the male pronoun Nesta had used, but dismissed it. With a cheerful ‘thanks’, she walked away.

Nesta couldn’t help her little smile when she picked up her phone. Cassian and her had exchanged numbers because of the group project they’d been working on, but so far, she had never send him a message that wasn’t about school or their daily hairstyle meetings.

_Someone just took a picture of today’s hairstyle, saying you’re very talented!_ _I have to agree >:O_

Cassian’s reply was immediate.

_I’m so sorry you had to compliment me. Didn’t want to make you frown._ _Wouldn’t want your pretty face to wrinkle ;D_

Nesta bit her lip to keep herself from smiling. _Did he just call her pretty?_ Well, she supposed Cassian _was_ a huge flirt. And in his own way, he had been flirting with her for a while now, hadn’t he? Nesta didn’t know how she felt about this.

The more time she spent with him, the more Nesta became aware that she had undoubtedly become attracted to Cassian. But she was afraid that she was misinterpreting his signals. What if he was like this with everyone?

Sighing, she put down her phone and stared out of the window in deep thought. Cassian had been exceptionally nice to her, but from what Feyre had told her, that was probably just his character. Nesta was afraid she read too much into the whole situation. Sure, he was meeting with her every day just to do her hair and lend her his notes for class, but that was just because he took pity on her situation, right?

Nesta was still staring out of the window, deep in thought, when suddenly the chair next her was pulled out, the legs screeching loudly when dragged over the floor.

Out of nowhere, Cassian plunked down into the chair, giving Nesta his best shit-eating grin. Seeing him, Nesta’s heart jumped right to her throat and her stomach fluttered in nervous anticipation.

“Hey there, sweetheart. I must say, that hair looks fantastic. Care to tell me, who did it?”

Nesta couldn’t help it - she smiled broadly at Cassian.

And seeing how Cassian’s jaw unhinged and then his whole face rapidly turned red at the sight, Nesta felt that it had totally been worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

“Can we please take a break?”

Cassian pushed his laptop off his lap and slumped down on his bed, his head close enough to Nesta’s thighs to cause her to shift around nervously and put some more distance between them. 

“We need to finish this today!” Nesta replied sternly, trying to focus on the long paragraphs of legal texts in front of her instead of the sliver of Cassian’s stomach, that was revealed because his shirt had ridden up.

The end of the semester was drawing close and with the sudden invasion of panicking students, they hadn’t been able to get a table or a breakout room at the library. So Cassian had proposed working on their project in his room. Since Nesta usually came by daily anyways to get her hair done by Cassian, she hadn’t thought much of it. 

But she had clearly underestimated how nervous she’d get sitting on his bed with him, bending heads over texts and computer screens, being entirely too close for Nesta not to get flustered about their proximity. Or Cassian’s beautiful hazel eyes, that bore into hers every so often. Or the way his dark, silky hair fell in soft waves around his face, until he’d tied half of it up into a bun. Or how unexpectedly good he smelled.

Shifting onto his back, Cassian looked up at Nesta with a little smile on his lips. 

“What?” she snapped, frowning down at him. 

“You’re pretty,” he said point-blank, without preamble whatsoever.

Nesta’s heart started beating wildly, but like usual, she masked her emotions. Instead of smiling, her frown deepened. “So?”

Cassian laughed softly and reached up, clutching one of her golden-brown strands, wrapping it around his finger. 

Nesta loved when he played with her hair. At this point, she didn’t really care for the cute hairstyles he did daily for her anymore; she simply loved the way Cassian ran his fingers through it at every occasion possible, seemingly unable to refrain from doing so. 

Nesta had never felt comfortable with people touching her, but Cassian was an exception. She was almost sad her cast would come off next week and then she wouldn’t have an excuse to continue their daily meetings anymore.

“Just wanted you to know, sweetheart,” he declared in a low voice that had Nesta blush despite her best efforts. She tried to turn her face away, so he wouldn’t see, but Cassian still firmly held onto the strand of her hair, forcing her to stay still if she didn’t want her hair ripped out. 

He tugged at it, forcing her to bend down over him a little. It reminded her of that epic scene in that Spiderman movie, when Tobey Maguire hung upside-down and Kirsten Dunst peeled off his mask for the kiss. Nesta’s focus immediately went towards his lips, that suddenly appeared to be very pink and very kissable. All she had to do was bend a tiny bit further down and put her mouth on his. 

“Hey Nes? Wanna hear a secret?”

With great effort, Nesta tore her attention away from his pretty lips and instead looked into his eyes, which did nothing to calm her. Not when her face was hovering mere centimeters over his and he looked her right into the eyes.

“What secret?” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she found it to be incredibly hard.

“I like you!”

And then Cassian reached up and clutched the back of her head, pulling her down for a kiss. Nesta didn’t struggle - instead she hungrily pressed her lips to his. But Cassian’s kiss was unexpectedly slow and gentle and so at odds with how she imagined it to be. This guy just kept surprising her with his contradicting behavior. 

They were starting out awkwardly, because the angles of their heads were all wrong and not what they were used to, but as soon as they found their rhythm, their lips moved perfectly against each other. Nesta placed her hands on either side of his face, cupping his jaw as she kissed him, and Cassian fisted her hair at the back of her head, ruining the half-updo he had done for her earlier that day. Nesta really didn’t care. The only things she cared about were his lips on hers. And whether or when he would finally deepen the kiss.

But surprisingly, Cassian broke away, staring up into her eyes from underneath her, his gaze filled with affection.

“Nesta, when I say I like you, I really mean it!”

That was all it took for her to slant her mouth back over his and deepen the kiss herself, pushing her tongue between his lips and sliding it into his mouth. She felt him stiffen and immediately stopped. Nesta drew back, afraid she had went too far.

“Sorry, I thought -”

Cassian quickly sat up and whirled around, his lips back on hers in a flash before she could get out the rest of sentence. He practically dragged her into his lap, his hands once more plunging into her hair, cupping her head as he tilted it backwards. 

And then he kissed her as wildy and fiercely as she had expected him to. All air left Nesta’s lungs and she melted against him. Her belly felt like it was filled with molten lava. 

Nesta quickly wrapped her one good hand around Cassian’s neck, her fingers finding their way into his hair at once, desperate to hold onto something to ground herself with. Cassian placed one hand on her waist in return, holding her firmly against himself and squeezing softly. The touch send a jolt of electricity running through her and she gasped into Cassian mouth. He responded with a low, throaty hum. 

And then the world tilted as he carefully lowered her onto the bed, right between their computers and crinkling sheets of paper, their lips still firmly glued together. Nesta squirmed and let go of Cassian for a moment to dig out a textbook from under her back. 

Her slight movement was enough for Cassian to break their kiss and study her face attentively. Nesta dragged out the book and threw it on the ground before clutching the collar of his sweater and pulling Cassian back down towards her. He gave a breathy laugh, his relief apparent, and then bend down again with a faint smile and resumed kissing her. 

Nesta felt like her body was on fire and every kiss and stroke of Cassian’s tongue stoked it, so it burned higher and hotter. When his hand found his way under her sweater and skimmed the bare skin of her stomach, she moaned into his mouth, unable to restrain the sound.

“Cassian,” she gasped, ungluing her lips from his for a minute. 

Deprived of her mouth, he brushed his lips over her jaw and cheek. “Not good? Should I stop?”

Nesta shook her head, unable to articulate words. Her mind was foggy; the only thing she knew was, that she didn’t want him to stop kissing and touching her. Cassian’s lips wandered down to her neck, while his hand wandered up over her bare stomach and ribs, slowly inching towards her breasts. Nesta inhaled deeply and arched her back, anticipating the moment when his fingers would finally reach their goal. 

But Cassian took his time, running his hand up and down, caressing her sides, her hips, while his mouth sucked and nipped at her neck. Nesta gave an impatient whine and clutched at his back. Hoping it would spur him on, she let her hand dive clean under his sweater, running her hand over his back. His skin felt hot and soft to the touch, but his body was firm and hard. Nesta could make out every toned, defined muscle. 

Boldly, she let her hand wander to his front, fondling his abs and chest. 

“Careful Nes,” he groaned hoarsely, when her hands wandered dangerously low, skimming along the hem of his underwear that peeked out from his jeans. 

It didn’t sound like refusal, but rather like a dare, a challenge for her to pry further. So, carried away by the heat of the moment, Nesta slid one finger between his underwear, running it along the hem. The tip of her finger hit short, coarse hair and Nesta’s stomach clenched deliciously, when the realization what hair exactly she was touching hit her.

Cassian exhaled with a long moan and rested his head against her shoulder, trembling with what she assumed was restraint. 

“Sweetheart, if you don’t want to take it further, I suggest you stop now. Because I don’t really trust myself to be able to stop here.” Cassian’s voice sounded pressed. 

Nesta stopped teasing him, but didn’t withdraw her fingers. “What if I want to take it further?”

Cassian raised his head to look at her and the heat in his gaze was almost enough for her to combust spontaneously. 

Agonizingly slow, he sat up and then reached behind him, pulling off his sweater, grabbing it by the collar instead of the hem in that typical guy way and discarding it on the floor. Topless, he towered over her, his chiseled torso and six pack on full display. When he pushed some hair that had fallen into his face out of the way with one hand, his biceps bunched. Nesta unconsciously licked her lips. She had never been interested much in her partner’s body, and she didn’t care about the size of his arms or the hardness of a guys’ abs, but topless Cassian just looked absolutely yummy.

Hooking her fingers in the belt loops of his jeans, she tugged at them. 

“Come here,” she whispered. 

Cassian carefully lowered himself, careful not to crush her petite body with his considerable weight, and then pressed himself flush against her. He cupped her head and gently brushed his thumb over her forehead, looking her deep into the eyes. 

“You sure about this, sweetheart?”

Instead of answering, Nesta surged upwards and caught his lips with hers. She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to _ feel _ . Cassian exhaled softly and pushed her back onto the mattress. And then his hand finally cupped her breast, albeit over her sweater, kneading it softly through the fabric. 

Nesta was about to ask him to help her undress, her hand already back inside his underwear, resting on his bare ass, when the door suddenly opened with a bang. Both Nesta and Cassian flinched in surprise.

“Yo Cass, long time no… Oh! Am I interrupting something?” Helion flashed them a sultry smile, shamelessly ogling the couple he’d caught in the act. 

By whatever cursed luck she possessed, Cassian’s ever absent roommate had chosen to make an appearance today, just when Nesta had been about to get naked with Cassian. 

With a curse, Cassian pushed himself off her and started towards Helion, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him out of the room. Helion grinned even wider and waved cheerfully at Nesta. 

“Bye beautiful. Next time, call me. I don’t mind joining in!”

Nesta’s went rigid, the shock over Helion’s shameless comment clearing the last of the lusty haze from her mind and allowing for the whole situation sunk in. She had been making out with a half-naked Cassian.  _ CASSIAN!  _ Nesta had been fully ready to sleep with him a moment ago. And it had been her encouraging him, asking him to continue, when he had told her he was fine with stopping, content just to be kissing her. 

Cassian threw the door shut in Helion’s face and turned around to face her, leaning against the shut door, probably to prevent his roommate from entering again. 

“I'm so sorry, I didn't know he would be back today. He usually is never around.” 

Nesta heard Cassian speaking, but the words didn’t register. She was occupied with running every possible outcome and horror scenario over and over in her head. What if Helion told someone, how he found them on Cassian's bed, about to do the do? For Cassian it would mean receiving a pat on the back or congratulations about getting her laid. But for her, it would mean ridicule, insults and other negative backlash when this made rounds. She was already receiving dirty looks when she walked around with Cassian on campus. And yesterday on the toilet, she'd overheard some Cassian fans trash talking her, because they always worked together in class. 

Nesta was overcome with a sudden panic, fueled by shame and embarrassment. Her mortification was so strong, she was afraid she’d puke. She was fucked, and not in the way she had wanted to be. She was sure, rumors were springing up on campus right about now, ruining everything.  

Hastily, Nesta scrambled off the bed and began gathering her things, awkwardly stuffing them into her bag with one arm.

“Nes, what are you doing?” Cassian asked, stepping closer to her. 

“Don't,” she cried in her panic, holding out her hand with her palm facing him. “Please don't. I need to go. I'm sorry.”

Cassian's hands fell loosely to his sides. He looked crestfallen. “Nes, what - ?”

Nesta just shook her head. She needed out, put some distance between her and Cassian. She was feeling too much, too quickly. She was scared. Of her feelings for Cassian, of what he felt for her, about what people would say about her - about them. She was spiraling down into panic and she needed to be somewhere safe before she lost control over herself and exploded.

“I can't… I need to go,” she repeated. 

“You regret this? Already? Wow!”

Cassian huffed a humorless laugh and raked his hand through his hair, hurt dimming his eyes. He stepped closer towards her and the bed, but gave her a wide berth. Picking up his sweater, he put it on. Nesta used the moment to slip past him and bolt to the door. 

“I'll send you my part of the project later?” Cassian asked flatly. He stared at the bed they had just kissed on, his jaw locked, before his gaze flickered towards her.

Nesta avoided looking into his eyes, unable to stomach the pain and disappointment she saw in them. He looked so heartbroken. She gave him a terse nod. 

And the she opened the door and ran away as fast and as far from Cassian as she could. 


	4. Chapter 4

 

Nesta eyed the pavement before her in silent outrage. She refused to believe in karma. She simply did.

They’d had 12°C yesterday. The sun had been out, the damn birds had been singing. And now it was -5°C and fucking snowing! The whole pavement in front of the library was white, powered in fine, slippery snow. It had only started snowing 30 minutes ago, and now everything was coated in white. And Nesta was definitely not wearing the right shoes for this kind of weather.

She didn’t want to slip and fall again, seeing that her cast had just come off yesterday. Cursing under her breath, she looked up towards the sky. Maybe if she waited around a bit longer, it would stop snowing. But then, there would still be snow on the ground and Nesta needed to be home soon. Her last exam was tomorrow and she was in dire need of some sleep after a hellish week. Finals week was bad enough, but in addition to the usual exam-induced stress, Nesta had been paranoid about Helion telling the whole campus about walking in on Cassian and her.

For the whole week, she’d been freaking out over every glance directed at her, imagining everyone looking at her weirdly and whispering behind her back. It took her a few days to realize, that the looks people were giving her were the same as usual and they didn’t talk worse about her than they’d done before. Nesta had never been popular, she was too abrasive to be, but people hadn’t been more or less horrible than usual.

Only when he started relaxing slightly over the walk-in matter did Nesta realize, that she was also feeling horrible, because she was missing Cassian. She felt bad about leaving like she had, but she also was afraid to meet him. She didn’t know how to apologize for the way she’d  reacted and she didn’t want to see the heartbroken expression on his face again. That’s why she had avoided him all week, ignoring his messages and arriving to the exams they had to take together at the last minute and leaving as soon as she could.

Feyre had been rather distant with her this week and Nesta knew it had something to do with Cassian, but Nesta didn’t dare ask and Feyre didn’t tell her anything on her own accord. It hurt Nesta that her blunders affected her relationship with her sister. And if she was being honest, the thought about causing pain for Cassian was even more horrifying. After all, he had confessed to liking her. And then she had bolted.

Nesta felt tears well up in her eyes, but did her best to fight them back down. She couldn’t cry over a guy. Over her own stupidity, yes, but not over a guy. Sniffling, she hoisted up her bag on her shoulder, her right arm still slightly stiff and hurting, and did what she did best: channeling all her negative emotions into anger - this time, at the fucking snow.

_ I’ll conquer this damn snow and walk home,  _ she told herself. Determined, she marched down the pavement, planting her heeled feet firmly on the slippery ground.  _ And the moment I reach home, I’ll call Cassian and apologize, _ she decided, nodding resolutely to herself.  _ And then I’ll tell him, that I love him and - wait, what? _

Nesta was so surprised at the direction her thoughts had taken, that she didn’t keep an eye on the ground - and slipped promptly.

_ Not again! _

She closed her eyes, already anticipating the fall, but instead of hitting the hard ground and probably breaking her ass for real this time, she found herself being steadied by strong arms.

“Careful, sweetheart. That cast just came off,” a deep voice whispered into her ear. A voice, she knew too well.

Nesta swirled around, heart pounding hard in her chest. Cassian regarded her with a carefully blank face, but his hands were still on her shoulder, steadying her and making sure she wouldn’t fall.

His beautiful hazel eyes, the ruggish features, pink lips, his hair pulled into that damn sexy bun - only when seeing him now did Nesta realize, just how much exactly she had missed him. To have him standing in front of her, touching her, after she had avoided him and his attempts to contact her all week, caused a whirlwind of emotions to break loose inside of her. Nesta suddenly found it very hard to breath.

“Thank you,” Nesta said, her voice raw.

She really wanted to fling herself at him, ask for forgiveness and cry her heart out, but she didn’t deserve to. Not after what she’d done to him.

The barest of smiles tugged at the corners of Cassian’s mouth. “How come you’re always falling, once there is a little bit of snow?

“Bad karma,” she deadpanned. “I mean, I’ve been horrible enough to attract some bad karma, don’t you think?”

The little smile was instantly wiped of Cassian’s lips, replaced by a frown, and his grip tightened on her shoulder. “Nes, it’s okay.”

“No! No, it’s not okay,” she said hotly. “Don’t coddle me. Let’s be honest: I’m an egotistical, self-centered bitch that only cares about herself. ”

She was so angry at herself, she wanted to rip her hair out. She could tell herself, she was angry at the snow, or at Helion, or at the people who talked about her behind her back, but more than anything, she was angry about how she had handled the situation. She had been afraid of Helion telling people about them, so she’d run. Even right now, she was still afraid to be ridiculed and made fun off. So she’d stayed away, consequently hurting Cassian. This, she couldn’t forgive, not even herself.

“I hurt you. I was selfish, egocentric, conceited ….

Cassian abruptly cut her off with a kiss, folding her tenderly into his arms. It caught Nesta completely off guard and she stiffened in surprise. Leaning back, Cassian gently brushed his thumb over her cheek.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. You panicked. I get it. It’s okay,” he murmured softly, trying to calm her further. “Just, please don’t run away. Not from me.”  

Nesta couldn’t hold back her tears any longer; her frustration at herself and the stress and anguish of last week finally boiling over. With a sob, she hid her face in his parka, silently crying against his chest. Cassian just held her, softly massaging her head and shoulders to help alleviate the tension within her. It took a few minutes for Nesta to calm down, but eventually the tears stopped.

“I am sorry,” she sniffed. “I shouldn’t have run away like this.”

“It’s okay,” Cassian said again and kissed her forehead. “We’re good?”

“Yeah. Unless you can’t stand being around me, because I’m a total bitch. I’d understand.”

“Stop calling yourself a bitch, sweetheart.” Cassian combed both hands through her hair, brushing it away from her face and forcing her to look up to him by tilting her head. “There’s no way I would stop liking you. Not because of something like this. You’re allowed to be afraid.” Bending down, he kissed away a tear out of the crease of her eye. “Just don’t run away from me, okay? I’d rather, you run _to_ me. I’m here for you, Nes!”

“I won't run,” Nesta promised. Depending on Cassian, hiding against his broad chest, finding solace in his arms - she could do this. Or try to at least.

Cassian kissed another tear away, this time on her cheek.

“And if I tell you I want to kiss you again right now, will you run away then?”

Nesta hesitated for a brief moment then shook her head. “No.”

Cassian smiled and then placed a little kiss on her nose. Nesta frowned at him being slightly disappointed. She had expected him to kiss her on the lips.

“And what if I tell you, that I want you to be my girlfriend, Nes?” he asked fondly, brushing his nose against hers.

Nesta’s heart started into overdrive and all sounds, except for the blood thrumming in her ears, faded.  _ Girlfriend _ . He wanted her to be his girlfriend!

“I won’t run,” she promised, clutching the front of his parka harder and tilting her face up towards his in a silent invitation.

But - again - Cassian didn't kiss her mouth; instead he kissed her jaw, right under her ear.

“And if I tell you, that I'm in love with you, Nesta Archeron, what will you do then?” he whispered, his voice brimming with affection.

Nesta released his parka and instead clutched Cassian's face, forcing him to face her.

“I won’t run!”  _ Because I’m in love with you, too.  _

Cassian let out a breath she didn't realize he had been holding and a broad happy smile overtook his features. And then he finally bent down and gave her the kiss she had been waiting for, leaving Nesta heady with bliss.

☙☙☙

“You know, if I hadn’t slipped on ice and broken my arm, we might not have ended up like this,” Nesta mused. 

_ In a relationship with you. In love.  _

Well, technically, Nesta had neither affirmed or declared any of those things, but neither had she rejected Cassian when he’d made his confession, so from a legal viewpoint, Nesta deemed her silence was as good as giving consent to their relationship. And for her,  _ I won’t run  _ was as equivalent to a declaration of love.

Cassian stopped braiding the section of hair he had been playing with and cocked an eyebrow at Nesta.

“How so?”

Nesta scooted closer and pressed her naked body flush against his. Cassian’s arms immediately came up to hold her in a tight embrace, pressing her even closer and planting a little kiss on her nose.

After they had spent some time kissing earlier, Cassian had offered to bring Nesta home. A spur-of-the-moment decision, she had invited Cassian to spend the evening with her, not wanting to part with him again so soon.

“Won't I distract you, sweetheart? Tomorrow being your last exam, I mean,” he had asked. His concern for her and the fact that he had remembered when her last exam was had warmed her heart and her chest had grown fuzzy and warm.

“No. I planned to go home and relax. I never study the night before an exam,” Nesta had explained, resting her head on his shoulder while they walked towards her flat, his arm wrapped around her shoulder and Nesta’s arm around his waist.

Cassian had hummed, sounding impressed. And then a spark of mischievousness had lit up his eyes.

“Hey Nes? You know, what’s actually a great method to reduce stress before an exam?”

“No,” she had asked warily.

Cassian had given her his usual shit-eating grin. “Sex!”

Nesta had smacked his chest with her free hand, but Cassian had merely laughed and hugged her closer.

“It's true! There's a scientific study proving it.” Cassian had leaned in then, brushing her ear with his lips. “It only works with a partner, tho. Masturbating doesn’t have the same effect.”

Nesta had glared at him, which of course had not intimidated him in the slightest. The only thing it had done, was turn him on. And then they had reached her flat and Nesta had decided to damn it all and pick up from where they’d left off last week, before Helion had interrupted them.

Now, they were basking in the afterglow of what had been really nice sex and, indeed, Nesta found herself to be surprisingly relaxed. Relaxed enough, to let her mind wander and not feel embarrassed about every little, silly thing. Her feelings, for example, causing her to be uncharacteristically outspoken.

“Well, you know, if I hadn’t slipped and you hadn’t been there to help me and kept helping me afterwards, I would’ve never gotten over my first impression of you.” Nesta scrunched up her nose. “Which wasn’t the nicest impression, to be honest.”

“Let me guess: dumb jock?” Cassian suggested with a hearty laugh. “I get that one often.”

“But you are so much more than that!” Nesta claimed sternly, directing the softest glare she could muster at her newly-minted boyfriend.

“So are you,” Cassian replied softly, running his hand over her bare back.

_ I’m glad I got the chance to see past it. _ Before Cassian could see her smile, she pressed her face against the thick column of his neck, sneakily inhaling his scent.

“I’m sorry you were hurt, sweetheart, but it seems your bad karma is my good karma!” Cassian said, grinning like an idiot. 

With a swift move, he flipped them over, rolling on top of Nesta and pinning her to the mattress. His face was aglow with happiness and love. 

This time, Nesta couldn’t hide her smile. “Seems like Karma isn't such a bitch after all.”

“No,” he said, leaning closer and brushing his nose against hers. “Seems like Karma is  _my_  bitch.”


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I literally announced today, that there won't be any update after chapter 5, but then someone posted a gif at tumblr that inspired me to write an epilogue. Enjoy!

„Okay, now bring this strand over the one on the middle.“

“Wait, what? Wait, wait, wait! You’re too fast, bro!”

Nesta snorted and took another sip of her chilled wine, glancing at her sister and her boyfriend out from the corner of her eye. She would’ve liked to turn her head fully and observe the havoc Rhysand was creating on Feyre’s head, but her own hair was currently being held tightly in Cassian’s grip. He was teaching Rhysand how to braid – or, well, attempting to.

It was an unreasonably warm day for April, and they had decided to go out for a picnic in the park. Ever since they started dating, Nesta had begun hanging out with Cassian’s friends. To her surprise, she got along with them rather well, especially because her sisters were part of the clique, too.

Cassian had brought his slackline, that was currently occupied by Amren, Mor and Azriel. Amren stood on it like a pro, the thin band barely dipping under her nonexistent weight. Mor had fallen right off when she tried and decided to nurse her sore behind by nursing another glass of wine, while Azriel instructed Amren. Elain and Lucien had run off somewhere, probably gathering snowdrops and crocuses or something. At least that was what Nesta hoped they were doing. Lucien was a kinky little shit, it wasn’t beneath him to accost her little sister in public and drag her behind the next bush. Nesta decided to castrate him the minute they came back.

Nesta had also tried the slackline before, but quickly decided, it was not her thing. The way she had flailed about and then clutched at Cassian’s hand, who helped steady her, was way too embarrassing. Instead, they had reclined on the blanket, sipping more wine and eating snacks. Rhys and Feyre had joined them shortly after and Feyre had openly admired the hairstyle Nesta wore today, courtesy by her very talented boyfriend.

“Cassian, can you braid my hair for me, too?” Feyre had made big, pleading eyes at Cassian, which Rhysand hadn't liked. Not at all!

“Darling, I can braid your hair just as well as this oaf here,” he had declared.

“Sure thing, bro. Wanna have a contest? Try recreate what I did with Nesta’s hair today!” Cassian mocked.

Of course, Rhysand was shit at braiding and because Cassian was such a big softy, he decided to teach his friend. But only after a few minutes of full-bellied laughter. Now he and his brother were kneeling side by side behind their girlfriends and Cassian patiently instructed his brother how to do a French braid.

“Why are you dating him again?” Nesta scoffed, addressing her sister.

Feyre continued to stare ahead, watching Azriel easily jump on the slackline and balance with ease on one leg. “Sex is great,” she answered with a sly smile.

Rhys stopped braiding and bend over Feyre’s shoulder. “But that’s not all, right darling?”

Feyre smiled up to him and batted her eyelashes coyly. “Maybe?”

The way Rhys pouted had them all laugh. Lured by the laughter, Mor came over and plopped down on the blanket, fishing for the wine in the cooler and eyeing Rhys’ progress. She gave a little snort and filled up her wine glass. With a smile in Nesta’s direction, she refilled hers too. But before Nesta could drink, a broad hand intercepted her and plucked the glass from her fingers.

“Thanks,” Cassian said, downing the wine in a few large gulps.

“Hey!”

Cassian endured the smack to his side with a gracious smile and then pecked a little kiss to her lips in apology. “Don’t worry, Mor packed enough wine to get a whole army drunk,” he said with another little peck to her nose.

Nesta blushed and ripped her glass out of his hand, serving herself with another refill. She was still not used to PDA, especially not in front of her new friends. That was more of a Feyre and Rhysand thing, who couldn’t stop being all over each other, no matter who saw. So even something chaste as a peck on the lips was too much for her as long as other people saw.

Cassian merely laughed softly and settled behind her, pulling Nesta back against his chest. Arm loosely wrapped around her middle, he continued instructing Rhysand while he held her. Making sure that nobody gave her strange looks about it, she relaxed back against Cassian and sipped her wine, allowing herself to simply enjoy the pleasure of being with him.

“AHA!”

Rhysand let out a triumphant exclamation and held up a rather messy, but finished braid.

“Well done bro!” Cassian complimented. “Now unravel it again and do two of them, with only the top part of her hair.”

He motioned to Nesta’s hair, that was done exactly like this: Hair parted in the middle, two simply French braids braided closely to her scalp away from her face and hanging loosely down the back.

Rhysand’s face fell quicker than a stone into a pond. They all laughed again.

“Come on, I’ll help you,” Mor offered, downing the last of her wine. “You take left, I’ll take right.”

Rhys and Mor flanked Feyre on both sides and started braiding. No longer needed for instruction, Cassian shifted, so he could look at Nesta’s face.

“Hey.” he smiled down at her warmly. Although Nesta should be used to the sight by now, his smile still made her giddy.

“Hey.” she said back, trying her best not to blush.

Cassian opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted, when suddenly the heavens opened their floodgates. The whole park around them started shrieking and yelling and Nesta and Cassian, along with their friends, scrambled to their feet, hastily packing their blankets and picnic foods.

“Run! Run for shelter!” Mor hollered and held the cooler with the wine over her head, unsuccessfully trying to shield herself from the sudden downpour.

“Of course she goes for the wine,” Cassian scoffed while he shoved everything within his reach into their bags and then held out a hand for Nesta. She took it and they had already started sprinting, when Nesta realized, they had left something behind.

“Cassian, your slackline!”

With a curse, Cassian came to a slithering halt. “Shit. Go on, Nes, I’ll catch up.”

He ran back towards the two trees where his slackline was spanned. Nesta looked down at herself. She was already soaked all the way to her underwear. She could get any more wet than she already was. Determined, she followed Cassian back to the trees. They would be faster together, meaning she could make sure the both of them got home and into dry clothes as soon as possible instead of it just being her.

“Here, let me help,” she said, panting after the short sprint.

“Nes, go! You’ll catch a cold!”

“So will you!”

Cassian glowered at her and Nesta glowered right back. Muttering a curse under his breath, he shook his head and then pointed towards the other tree. “You know how to undo the buckle, yes?”

Nesta nodded and sprinted to the other three. The buckle was slick with rain and Nesta needed a few attempts, but eventually she managed to undo the clasp and the buckle released the flat rope, so she could finally unwrap it from the tree. Cassian was already done on his side and had started rolling up the slackline. Carefully aligning the band and wrapping it around itself, he slowly made his way over to her. By the time Cassian reached her side, he was so drenched, he looked like he had been dunked into a pool.

“Seeking shelter now seems kind of unnecessary, don’t you think?” he asked with a smile, running a hand through his hair.

Nesta wanted to tell him, he was right, but her mouth was suddenly very dry.

His arm muscles bunched when he reached up and brushed his hair away from his face with one hand. The grey long sleeve he was wearing clung to his body, enhancing his broad shoulders and sculpted chest. Nesta could count each ridge of his six-pack - that was actually an eight-pack. Nesta wasn’t into muscles, but she certainly was into her boyfriend’s muscles. But what had her breath caught in her throat was his smile – the way it lit up his beautiful hazel eyes and made adorably wrinkles appear around his eyes killed her.

Cassian stepped closer and took the buckle from her, neatly packing away the slackline and equipment in its little sack. Glancing at Nesta, he rummaged around in his rucksack and pulled out his leather jacket, that was only semi-wet. With that very own Cassian care, that seemed so out of place considering the size of his body, he gently wrapped it around Nesta’s shoulders.

“Not that it helps much, but we can pretend,” he chuckled, brushing his cold nose against hers.

He pulled back and they locked gazes. Nesta was cold and wet, the rain still mercilessly beating down on them, but the way Cassian locked at her, his eyes brimming with love and affection, made warmth spread in her chest.

They moved at the same time, their lips coming together for a slow, but intense kiss, that sent sparks flying. Snaking one arm around his neck, Nesta pulled Cassian closer, deepening the kiss. His jacket fell off her shoulder, but she didn’t care. She also didn’t care anymore if anyone saw them; she simply wanted to kiss her boyfriend, until he was left breathless.

Still kissing, Cassian reached for the jacket and rearranged it on her shoulder. Even now, while kissing, he was deeply thinking about her. Her heart squeezed tight and Nesta couldn’t keep the words inside any longer.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

Cassian leaned back to look at her, surprise coating his features. Nesta had never told him, she hadn’t even officially acknowledged their relationship yet. She had just taken him home with her after that day in front of the library and made good of her promise not to run ever since.

And then Cassian smiled the most beautiful smile, his face radiant like the summer sun. The sight stopped Nesta’s heart dead in her chest.

Wrapping his arms around her middle, Cassian lifted her up until their eyes level. “I love you, too. But you know that, sweetheart, don’t you?”

She hadn’t doubted it, he had told her as much already, but hearing it again still had her stomach flutter uncontrollably and her heart start into overdrive, about to burst in her chest.

“Yeah.”

They shared a little smile, rain-slick foreheads pressed together, before surging forward and locking their lips in another kiss – this time more heated. They would’ve continued kissing forever, had not the sound of quickly approaching footsteps startled them out of their activity.

Lucien and Elain came running up to them, seeking shelter under the canopy of their tree. Both were in a miserably wet state and also only half dressed, confirming Nesta’s suspicion of Lucien having dragged her sister behind the next bush for his kinky shit. Lucien was only dressed in his pants, his shirt haphazardly draped over Elain’s head. Her dress was askew and unbuttoned in the front, showing off her pink, lacy bra.

Cassian let Nesta slide to the ground and politely averted his eyes, albeit shaking with silent laughter. Nesta considered making good of her earlier intention to castrate Lucien, but she was just too damn happy to care right now. So she settled for shooting him an icy glare, that had Lucien blanch and turn around to help Elain button up, and then nestled closer into Cassian’s arm. He smiled down at her fondly, plucking a wet strand off her cheek.

“You think, Lucien banging my sister behind a bush accumulated enough bad karma to cause this downpour?” she asked, shooting another scorching look in the direction of the other couple. Lucien flinched, as if he had felt Nesta’s glare like a knife to his back.

Chuckling, Cassian bend down and licked a raindrop off her cheek.

“Seeing I got a confession out of you today, I’d say, it was just karma being really nice to me again.”

 


End file.
